In these financially trying times, many people are looking to save every single penny that they can. But one of the worst offenders when it comes to draining our wallets is petrol. It’s a necessity for so many people, and yet with prices always increasing it’s becoming a luxury that many will no longer be able to afford.

Many households have been driven to despair when it comes to keeping the needle out of the red on their vehicle. Statistics have shown that as much as 43% of motorists have already reduced the amount they use their cars and a further 18% are attempting to drive more efficiently. And with the average price of one litre of unleaded petrol now costing around £1.36, you can see why.

And this is where TopCashback.co.uk come in, giving their members the chance to save up to 20% on their fuel bill. For every £10 that you spend at the pumps at service stations nationwide, you’ll get £2 cashback. All you have to do is take a picture. Read More »

At Which4U, we’ve had an interesting inside-view of the complexities of crowdfunding over the last 12 months. We’ve seen models that have been successful and some that have fallen away.

But there’s still a considerable funding gap for businesses – more than the government can expect to cover alone. And while the Funding for Lending Scheme has improved the availability and affordability of residential mortgages, it has failed to tempt banks into higher-risk lending to new and small businesses.

This is where initiatives such as FundTheGap come in. FundTheGap is a newly-launched equity fundraising platform for UK start-ups and small businesses that enables entrepreneurs to raise up to £2 million in capital while allowing qualified investors to support businesses and potentially benefit from tax reliefs.

Companies are charged a fee to feature on the platform. The benefits of this include an assessment of the business plan, a screening process, and a pledge of investment from FundTheGap itself. FundTheGap insists on meeting the management teams behind each company face-to-face if they are to be accepted. For investors, the platform is free of charge.

In the past year alone, we have seen many advancements in the use of technology in banking.

Back in June we ran a story here on the Which4U blog that explained the use of smartphones to withdraw money from ATMs through the use of 6 digit codes instead of using a card. In this article, we also mentioned that it was not the first attempt at this sort of technology, with a similar system that had been developed by cash machine operator NCR, using barcodes instead of numerical codes.

Then in September we did a follow up piece on ‘Project Oscar’; a smartphone based wallet being created by a group of service providers (EE, O2 and Vodafone) which was said to provide a simple and secure shopping experience for the consumers that opt into the service.

These follow other attempts at a digital revolution in UK banking, with Barclaycard, Visa, Paypal and even search engine giant Google trying to get in on the act with their own applications and devices to push mobile banking forward. Read More »

Gone are the days in which technology was a young person’s game. Now more elderly people than ever are taking to their smartphones and tablets for just about every aspect of their lives.

With so much potential for making retirement easier, it’s no wonder that over half of all those 55+ have taken up a smartphone and are more than happy to use it for their every day needs.

This comes at such a crucial time in financial terms, with the Autumn Statement revealing government plans to reduce the allowance for pensions schemes meaning that once people reach the age of retirement, they will have less to fall back on.

With this in mind, it’s worth checking out these applications that promise to help you save in retirement.Read More »

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to the thousands of us that take out a contract for our mobile phones and broadband, is when we suddenly get an email or text message saying that prices are going to go up. You’ve signed on for a price, why is that now going up?

It turns out that when you enter a fixed contract with a phone company, it doesn’t mean that the price is fixed – just the length of time you’re with them. So what can be done about this?

Ofcom Takes On Telecom

Right now, if your provider chooses to make a change to the amount that you are paying, there is nothing you can do but grit your teeth and pay the extra amount in order to keep your connection.

Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, have proposed changes to the current system in the hope that this will give more power to the consumers should this happen mid-contract.

Money is pretty tight for the majority of people these days, but that doesn’t stop us wanting the newest bit of cool technology as soon as it hits the shelves. However, we all know that living beyond our means can land us in sticky financial situations, and no-one wants to be in debt just because they splashed out on a mobile phone.

So if you’ve been eyeing up the hot new Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia Lumia 920 but are a bit strapped for cash, you may want to consider investing in a slightly older and more affordable Windows Phone 7 model, such as the Lumia 900. So just what are the differences between the two?

The boss of one of Britain's leading challenger banks has called for further measures to make current account switching simpler, amid concerns that momentum is being lost in the battle for market share.